More than a dozen ladies met Wednesday night in Montgomery County to bond over cervezas, guacamole, and guns. "Hi, I'm Adrienne, and I first picked up a gun in January," said Adrienne Nicotera, 34, introducing herself as the local organizer of A Girl and a Gun Women's Shooting League. "We want to show it's not just a men's sport. ... And we're going to have a lot of fun." Nicotera, a nurse and new mother from Abington, considers herself a novice, but loves shooting so much that she launched Pennsylvania's first chapter of A Girl and a Gun. The club began in Texas just two years ago and now has 48 chapters in 19 states. It is part of a growing movement of women into what has long been a male-dominated area. Over the last decade, the number of women target shooters has surged nearly 50 percent and women hunters nearly 40 percent, according to the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers. Nicotera said she, like many women, had been afraid of guns and did not want to touch one even after taking a three-hour introductory class. After the first shot, she said, "it felt amazing. ... I haven't put a gun down since." Though they'd met only minutes earlier, the women were already sharing inside jokes and knowing nods. "For Christmas, [my husband] bought me eyes and ears," Nicotera said, using gun-range lingo for protective glasses and earplugs. "It's like getting a vacuum cleaner, but I was excited." Abby Lutz, 25, said her boyfriend also does his gift-shopping at the gun store. "He has never bought me a piece of jewelry for my birthday. Guns are nice, but I'm like, 'It's enough.' " Most of the women had initially started shooting at the behest of their husbands, boyfriends, brothers, or fathers. And then, like Nicotera, they "fell in love." Lori Wicen, who owns Wicen's shooting range in Furlong with her husband, said that although shooting can be a great couples activity, women and men don't always learn or teach the same way. "Did you ever have a man try to teach you anything? We think so differently than they do," she said, observing that some women like to delve deeper into technical details before they begin shooting. And there can be logistical differences - smaller hand grips, lower fences and targets, shorter rifles. Manufacturers in recent years have been trying to capitalize on these qualities, marketing pink grips, vests, and gloves, small-frame safety glasses, and stylish handbags with gun pockets. But the main reason for the club isn't to gush over gun fashion, they said. It's to socialize and practice in a more comfortable environment. "The men are getting more accepting of women on the ranges," said Nicotera.
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More than a dozen ladies met Wednesday night in Montgomery County to bond over cervezas, guacamole, and guns. "Hi, I'm Adrienne, and I first picked up a gun in January," said Adrienne Nicotera, 34, introducing herself as the local organizer of A Girl and a Gun Women's Shooting League. "We want to show it's not just a men's sport. ... And we're going to have a lot of fun."
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I was there, and I think this will be a fun group. I can't wait until we have some shooting events. Our indoor range is Clayton's, and our outdoor range is Wicen's. You guys have any wives, girlfriends or daughters who might not want to go shooting with you, as it might be intimidating, send them out with us! The only downside is you might have to share ammo!